Circuit breaker testing arrangement



May 21, 1940. F. M. DEERHAKE V CIRCUIT BREAKER TESTING ARRANGEMENT Filed April 15, 1939 Inventor: I'm M. Deevhake His Attorney.

- FT-a Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,201,852 ontcm'r BREAKER 'ms'rnvc. ARRANGE- MENT Franklin M. Dcerhake, Schenectady; N. Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application April 15,

2 Claims.

My invention relates to testing devices and concerns particularlymethods and devices for testing the operation of circuit-interrupting devices at high apparent power on a low power source. My arrangement is an improvement of those disclosed in the copending application Serial No. 250,347 of Wilfred F. Skeats, filed Janu ary 11, 1939 and assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

Various objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

, In apparatus of the type to which 'my invention relates, there are provided a transformer for applying the desired test voltage to a circuit breaker to be tested and a second lower-voltage relatively high-current-output transformer for delivering the desired testing current, thereby making it unnecessary to consume the power or use testing equipment having the rated apparent power which would be required if the full test voltage and full test current were supplied by a single transformer or by a directly connected generator. A three-electrode sphere gap is interposed between the high-current transformer and the tested breaker to prevent interference with th voltage of the high-voltage transformer high side of the breaker and for shunting the resistor after breakdown of the three-electrode gap a needle gap is provided across the resistor. Further refinements are described hereafter. U

The invention will be understood more readily from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing and those features of the invention which are believed to be novel and patentable will be pointed out in the claims appended hereto. In the drawing Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram representing schematically one form of apparatus which was not invented by me. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary circuit diagram of a modification in the arrangement of Fig. 1 for use when a relatively high ratio is desired between the voltage of the high voltage source and the voltage of the high current source. Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram of an 1939, Serial No. 268,046 (Cl. -183) improvement devised by .me in the arrangement represented by Fig. 2. Like reference characters are utilized throughout the drawing.to designate like parts.

In the drawing a circuit breaker or other piece of electrical equipment for making and breaking electrical circuits is represented at II and apparatus for testing the circuit breaker is shown with output terminals I2 and I3 to whichthe device II is adapted to be connected for being tested. In order to subject the tested device II to the voltage at which it is desired to test it, a transformer I4 is provided which may be a. stepup transformer having a secondary winding I5 wound for the desired voltage and having a primary winding I6 connected to a suitable source of alternating current I1, preferably of the same frequency as the circuits in which the device II is ordinarily used. For supplying testing cur-- rent of a desired magnitude to the device II without thereby subjecting the current source H to a kilowatt load or to a kilovolt ampere load which would correspond to a direct connection of the device II to the source N, there is provided a second transformer I8 having a secondary winding I9 wound to deliver the desired current, but wound for a lower voltage than the secondary winding I5 of the transformer I4. The transformer I8 is provided with primary winding 20 connected to the same source of alternating current I! as the transformer I4.

The high current winding I9 is adapted to be connected across the terminals I2 and I3 to which the tested device I I is connected, but in order to prevent dragging down the voltage supplied by the winding I5 which is, of necessity, a relatively low-current-capacity winding, a suitable device such as-a spark gap 2| is interposed in the connection between the high current winding I9 and the terminals I2 and I3 of the tested device II. In the arrangement shown the windings I5 and I9 each have a grounded low side, and the terminal I3 of the device II is also grounded. The gap 2| is interposed between the high side of the high current winding I9 and the high side of terminal I2 of the device II. For enabling the gap 2| to be broken down and to close a circuit between the high side of the high current windin'g I9 and the terminal I2 of the device II a control electrode 22 is provided. The gap 2I is thus in the form of a three-electrode gap having end electrodes 23 and 24 and the said control or middle electrode 22.

For control of the potential of the middle electrode 22 a non-conductive connection is made pressed across circuit breaker II.

between the middle electrode 22 and the terminal I2 of the device II. Such a connection may be a condensive reactive connection in the form of a condenser 25 connected between the terminal I2 and the middle electrode 22. For the purpose of momentarily fixing the potential of the end electrode 23 of the gap 2| to permit the gap to be controlled by the potential of the middle electrode 22 condenser 26 is connected between the grounded terminal I3 and the end electrode 23, and to prevent the potential of the electrode 23 from following too closely the potential of the terminal I2 a resistor 21 is connected between the terminal I2 and the electrode 23. The condenser 26 has one plate or electrode grounded and the other connected to the gap electrode 23. In order that the resistor 21 may be shunted out to permit the full available current of the high current winding I9 being applied to the device II at the proper time, a spark gap 28 is connected across the resistor 21.

The gap 2| is of the type which withstands relatively high steady state voltages or voltages of normal commercial frequencies but which may be broken down by transient voltages or sharp surges of the same order of magnitude, but the gap 28 on the contrary, is of the type which with-,- stands relatively high sharp surge voltages, but readily breaks down upon the application of steady state voltages of the same order of magnitude. For this purpose the three-electrode gap 2| may be of the blunt electrode type, such as a sphere gap, for example, and the gap 28 may be of the sharp or pointed electrode type such as a needle gap, for example.

The operation of the circuit of Figure 1 is as follows: When the proper voltages are applied by the two transformers and the circuit breaker II is in its open position, the spark gaps 28 and 2| will remain open and the voltage of the relatively high potential winding I will be im When in the course of the closing of the circuit breaker II its contact separation becomes so low as to allow a spark to jump between the contacts which are, of course, connected to the circuit breaker terminals I2 and I3, the potential at the high side terminal I2 experiences a sudden drop and a similar drop is experienced by the sphere electrode 22 of the gap 2!. Since the voltage of the end electrode 23 is maintained momentarily by the charge upon the condenser 26, the threeelectrode gap 2| is thrown out of balance and breaks down. First a spark jumps between the electrodes 23 and 22 and this raises the potential of the electrode 22 to a point where the gap between electrodes 22 and 24 overstresses and breaks down. The entire. gap space of the threeelectrode gap 2| is thus broken down and the potential of the high current winding I9 is applied to the needle gap 28, which is so chosen as to be broken down by this potential when applied at normal frequency. The gaps 2| and 28 have thus broken down and a complete short circuit of the tested device II is produced across the high current winding I9 of the transformer I8. The high voltage winding I5 remains short circuited, but owing to the inherent reactance of the transformer I4, no undue load is drawn from the source I1.

It will be noted that between the times of the breakdown of the interelectrode space within the circuit breaker II and of the three-electrode gap 2|, the needle gap 28 may be stressed up to the crest value of the voltage provided by the relagaps 29, 30 and 3| connected in series.

tively high voltage transformer winding I5. It is for this reason that a needle gap is specified across the resistor 21 as this type of gap has the property of resisting a relatively high voltage when momentarily applied although it will break down when a relatively low voltage is continuously applied.

It will be understood, that the value of the resistance of the resistor 21 and the capacitance of the condenser 26 are so chosen that the end electrode 23 of the three-electrode sphere gap 2| assumes a potential sufiiciently equal, under the application of normal frequency voltage, to that of the high voltage terminal I2 of the tested device The voltage of the end electrode 24 is, of course, determined by the voltage of the winding I9 of the transformer and the potential of the middle electrode 22 will be determined by the relative magnitude of the capacitance of the condenser 25 and the inherent capacitances of the sphere electrode 22 to the other parts of the circuit. The potential of the electrode 22 is adjusted by control of the magnitude of the capacitance of the condenser 25 so as to allow a minimum gap between the electrodes 23 and 22, and between the electrodes 23 and 24 without breakdown. The needle gap 28 is so adjusted as not to break down in response to a sharp surge voltage equal to the crest value applied by the high voltage transformer I4 but to be broken down by the application of the normal frequency voltage from the high-current winding I9.

In case it should be desirable to utilize a voltage ratio between the output voltages of the windings I5 and I 9 which is beyond that at which the needle gap 28 can conveniently and reliably be made to operate as desired, the arrangement of Fig. 2 may be utilized in which the single needle gap 28 is replaced by a gap having a plurality of sections or consisting of a plurality of needle Intermediate points are connected to unequally spaced points of the resistor 21 in such a way that when the current in the resistor 21 controls the potential distribution, the gaps 29, 30 and 3| are very unequally stressed with the result that they will break down in sequence upon the application of a very low voltage. The capacitances across, these gaps and from each terminal to ground, however, are so adjusted by means of the connection of properly proportioned condensers 32, 33 and 34, for example, that the arrangement has the ability to withstand the maximum voltage for the gap arrangement used when the potential distribution is controlled by the capacitances, that is, in the case of application of sharp surge voltage. Since voltage distribution is determined by capacitance in case of a mementary surge and by resistance in case of steadily applied voltage, it will be seen that the needle gap arrangement of Fig. 2 will be able to Withstand a much higher voltage in the form of a momentary surge than when the voltage is continuously applied.

In order to avoid difficulties which may be encountered in the adjustment of the circuit of Fig. 2 when the ratio of voltage of the windings I5 and I9 is large, an arrangement illustrated by the circuit of Fig. 3 is employed by me in which the single resistor 21 is replaced by a plurality of resistors, 36, 31, 38, 39 and 48, which hay have progressively greater resistances as in the case of the sections of the resistor 21 of Fig. 2, but need not necessarily have progressively increasing resistances. It will be understood that the 7 time constant of that portion of the circuit consisting of the resistance and the capacitance across the gap section shall be large enough to maintain the condenser voltage during the peak of a sharp transient voltage wave, such as 1X5 microsecond wave, for example. In Fig. 2 the ratio of the total series resistance of the resistor 21, to that of the smallest section is determined by the ratio of transformer voltages of windings l5 and I9. On the other hand, the total series resistance between the terminal I2 and the high side of the condenser 26 must be small enough so that during the time the voltage of the winding I5 is on before the circuit breaker ll closes, the voltage drops in the resistance due to the charging current of. the condenser 26 are not great enough to break down the gaps 32, 33 and 34. By employing the arrangement of Fig. 3, even in the case of high voltage and correspondingly high charging current, sufiiciently low resistancemay readily be interposed in the connection between the terminal l2 and the condenser 26 without preventing the provision of the proper time constant of the individual condenser resistor circuits in the portion of the apparatus enclosed within the dotted rectangle II in Fig. 3. It will be understood that any desired number of additional needle gap sections, condensers and resistors may be added as indicated by the broken lines 42 and 43, depending upon the ratio between the voltages of the transformer windings l5 and I9.

I have herein shown and particularly described certain embodiments of my invention and certain methods of operation embraced therein for the purpose of explaining its principle and showing its application but it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations are possible and I aim, therefore, to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of my invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for testing circuit interrupting devices comprising first and second output terminals to which may be connected a device to be tested, means connected to said terminals for supplying electric power at relatively high voltage, means connected on one side to the first of said terminals for supplying electric power at relatively high current, a condenser having first and second electrodes, the first of. which is connected to said first terminal, a blunt-electrodetype spark gap comprising first and second end electrodes and a middle electrode, said first end electrode being connected to the remaining side of said high-current source and said second end electrode being connected to the second electrode of said condenser, a resistor connected between said second output terminal and said second condenser electrode, a second condenser connected between said middle gap electrode and said second output terminal, a multisection sharp-electrode-type gap connected across said resistor and comprising a plurality of electrodes with interposed series gap sections, a plurality of condensers connected between successive pairs of said last mentioned electrodes, and a plurality of resistors, each connected between one of said last mentioned electrodes and said second output terminal.

2. A connecting arrangement adapted to withstand sudden applications of potential difference and to break down upon prolonged application of relatively low potential differences, comprising a resistor, a multisection sharp-electrode-type gap connected across said resistor and comprising a plurality of electrodes with interposed series gap sections, a plurality of condensers connected between successive pairs of said last mentioned electrodes, and a plurality of resistors, each connected between one of said last mentioned electrodes and one end of said first mentioned resistor, whereby the voltage distribution across the gap for sudden applications of potential difference is controlled by condensers and the voltage distribution for prolonged application 7 of potential difference is controlled by the relative resistance values and high current capacity is obtained without excessive potential difference across any gap section.

FRANKLIN M. DEERHAE. 

